Saudi hospital group Fakeeh draws $91 billion from IPO

Saudi health-care group Dr. Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital Co. rose in its debut as Riyadh's biggest listing of the year after the company's initial public offering attracted $91 billion in orders.

Shares in the hospital operator reached as high as SR63.2 on Wednesday, up 9.9 per cent from the offer price of SR57.5 per share, which was at the top of a marketed range. The company, along with the founding family, raised SR2.86 billion ($763 million) through the listing.

Investors are piling into the shares of Fakeeh Care Group amid a flurry of public offerings, with Saudi Arabia's stock exchange saying last month that over 50 firms have applied for listings. Separately, recent share sales in the kingdom's health-care sector have performed generally well, generating at least $16.7 billion of wealth for their top shareholders, based on stake values.

In a secondary offering that launched earlier this week, the government gathered enough orders within hours to cover the $12 billion worth of Saudi Aramco shares it is selling.

Fakeeh Care Group drew Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Olayan Saudi Investment Co. as cornerstone investors, agreeing to subscribe for 1.04 million shares and 1.96 million shares, respectively. It was the first time the Abu Dhabi wealth fund is participating in a Saudi IPO as a cornerstone investor.

The company was founded in 1978 in Jeddah, and now has 835 beds across four hospitals and five medical centers. It plans to expand to seven hospitals with 1,675 beds and nine medical centers by 2028 to capitalize on the kingdom's growing population, which is expected to hit about 40 million by 2030.

HSBC Holdings Plc is acting as sole financial adviser and joint bookrunner together with anb capital and EFG Hermes. Moelis & Co. is advising the selling shareholders.